


meet me among the flowers

by inlovewiththeirlove (fieldofdiabolicalbutlovelykillers)



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Getting Back Together, M/M, Post-Break Up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-05 18:34:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16372853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fieldofdiabolicalbutlovelykillers/pseuds/inlovewiththeirlove
Summary: Kent's tired of using everything from smartwatches to wristbands to bandanas to cover up his soulmark, so he takes a more drastic step, he gets it tattooed.





	1. Ambivalent

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU in which your soulmark is what your soulmate feels about you. Not an original AU, other people have written the same concept before.

_“My soulmate’s an alien,” Kent declared, standing proud in the middle of the playground._

_They were five minutes into recess and Josh had started bragging about his brother’s soulmate, who worked on TV again._

_Everyone had ooh’d at that and Kent was tired of it._

_“No, she’s not, aliens aren’t real.”_

_“Are to,” Kent huffed._

_“Are not.”_

_“It says strange on my arm, my mom said so and Ms. Dee said aliens would think we’re strange. You’ll see.”_

_“I didn’t know my soulmate could be from space! My soulmate is an alien too.” Troy exclaimed._

_“My soulmate is a dinosaur!” Jeffery added._

_“My soulmate’s a puppy!”_

_“I am my soulmate!”_

_Dee watched this transpire and had to hold back a smile._

_“Kids, huh?” she said to Mrs. Parson, next to her. She didn’t know the woman too well though Kent was always excitedly telling stories about her._

_“Wish he was an alien, the divorce would be easier,” Mrs. Parson smiled at her own joke._

_Dee smiled back, it must be difficult, “So, what’s the plan for today? Any reason you’re picking him up at lunch?”_

_“Oh yeah, we’re going to Alicia Zimmermann’s book signing today! it’s mostly for me, but he’s a fan too.”_

_“Ooh that is exciting, he loves hockey,” Dee replied._

_“And fashion,” Mrs. Parson replied._

_“And fashion,” Dee echoed._

~

Kent settles on roses, ironically romantic with the added bonus that they’d piss off Zimmermann.

He’d probably see them on TV, if he didn’t throw up immediately at the mere mention of him.

That was unfair, Kent knew, he’d probably only throw a remote at his TV.

“You sure about this?” Jeff asked, as he squeezed his arm tighter and winced.

He was in the middle of getting a tattoo of his own, his first ever and to say he was handling it poorly would be the biggest understatement since the press called him an “interesting choice”. 

Jeff let out a little hiss and Kent laughed. 

It was a simple daisy for his daughter, Kaela. 

Daises were her favourite flower and she had gotten to dictate her dad’s tattoo. Kent had tried to bribe her into making Jeff get a Olaf tattoo but Jeff had promised her an Ipad for Christmas and won.

“I’m sure, and Dr. Chandra agreed, she said the bandana wasn’t helping with my self control and a more permanent solution might be more beneficial,” Kent shrugged. He was already tired of explaining his choice, though he imagined he’d have to do it a lot more in the future. 

“What kind of shrink keeps you from being in love?” Jeff asked.

Kent grimaced. 

Jeff tried but he didn’t get it, not really.

“I’ll be happier,”Kent said in a soft tone.

“I’m happy for that bud,” Jeff smiled though Kent could see that the needle was still affecting him. 

“I have to warn you, I’ve never done this before. I haven’t even heard of anyone doing this before, so I can’t tell you how well it will work,” April said as she finished up Jeff’s tattoo.

“I mean, it’s a tattoo, you’ve definitely done that before,” Kent raised his brows glancing back and forth between Jeff and April for a reaction to his joke.

They both said nothing.

April paused her work and looked up at Kent. 

“Never directly on a soulmark. Most people don’t get them there, you know, because of the stories.”

Kent laughs before she even finishes her sentence.

“That’s all crazy talk,” Kent scoffed,”and that’s coming from the most superstitious guy in the league.”

“My gran swears by it, says she felt the pain when ‘pa died in the war,” April sounded quieter, more reserved.

It was the most Kent had heard about her family, though him and the team had spent a lot of time under her needle.

Kent still didn’t believe it, “Dude, if your gran felt the gunshot, she’d be dead, or at least bleed or some shit.”

Jeff flashed him an angry look.

April rolled her eyes, “God, you’re annoying. I’m just telling you beforehand incase your soulmate gets pissy about the pain. Who are they anyway and how did they fuck up this bad?”

“She’s fine, love is just not for me,” Kent bit his lip. He appreciated April not assuming, but he couldn’t exactly come out to her, regardless of how much time he’d spent here. 

“So you’ve met them then?” she pried further and Kent got a look from Jeff.

“Yeah, tell us about her,” Jeff edged on.

Kent ignored the two, instead focusing on the needle moving across Jeff’s bicep. 

Watching April work was mesmerizing, it always reminded Kent of skating. The lines were smooth, curving without wavering, bold in their intensity. 

He glanced down at Jeff’s wrist. _‘Proud’_ it read, it had the same solid lines as the fresh tattoo. 

The last time he’d seen his it was faint, fragmented, and red almost as if he etched it on himself. He wasn’t even worthy enough of an unbroken line. 

April grabbed a cloth and cleans up the edge of Jeff’s tattoo. He grinned and walked over to a mirror to snap a picture.

Kent took his spot in the chair and undid the bandana on his wrist. 

It looked the same as last time.

Like most things Zimmermann had said to him, it was devastation in its simplicity.

_Ambivalent._

He wanted to be rid of it.

Purge it the same way he had been purged from everything else in Zimmermann’s perfect life.

April took his hand and glanced down. She didn’t say anything, though lower eyes spoke volumes to Kent. 

She went on to clean his wrist while Jeff was showing off his new tattoo on Instagram Live.

Kent took in a breath.

An hour later, roses covered the end of his arm and he smiled. 

He was more than _ambivalent._


	2. not-so-ambivalent

_Jack couldn’t hold back his laugh and he let the noise escape. Kent drew his finger to his lips and shushed him._

_It only drew more attention to his lips and Jack grabbed his chin and went in for a kiss._

_Kent’s eyes widened as he drew away._

_“Dude” he whispered, “now is not the time. We shouldn’t have snuck out, what if your dad notices? I can’t have Bad Bob disappointed in me.”_

_Jack looked at him through his lashes and moved his hand further up Kent’s arm. Kent looked scandalized, he kept looking behind him, though he let Jack continue his exploration of the depths of Kent’s face._

_This went on for a few minutes until Kent drew away._

_“Dude, listen.”_

_Jack wanted to whine at the loss of touch but he paused and heard the shuffling of footsteps and hushed noises from the trees._

_“Is that your dad?”_

_Jack grabbed Kent’s hand and lead him further into the woods, getting caught would put a damper on Jack’s plans for the night._

_Plans that involved a night under the stars, with some beer and stealing Kenny’s snapback. Plans that definitely didn’t involve being yelled at by his father._

_They found some bushes to squat behind and Jack tried to not let his heartbeat too fast._

__

_Kent let out a little laugh._

__

_Jack glared at him. He shushed him then._

__

_Kent winked back._

_Jack had to roll his eyes, though seeing Kent laugh next to him made him giggle too._

_Jack gazed down, hands still intertwined, their tattoos almost touching. Jack didn’t need to know what his read, he could feel it._  
~  
The walls around him felt foreign, though he had walked this path many times before. 

He had called this arena a second home in an interview the other day. 

It wasn’t a lie, he supposed, it was as home as any other house he lived in.

Another location in the Jack Zimmermann story, a place for people to visit and daydream about the days he would’ve hung out there. They were all more nostalgic than he was.

Jack placed a hand on the corner of the wall, trying to remember the way. 

The walls were a uniform, dismissible grey, a colour that only reminded him of the other depressing barriers of the past.

High school classrooms that felt like filler before hockey.

Locker rooms that felt like cages.

Rehab.

He took a deep breath. The turns had started to blur a few minutes ago and he could no longer hear the chatter from where he had started.

The exit couldn’t be that far. 

Jack forced himself to pick a direction and walked. He was unsteady and the grey concrete of the wall turned into navy blue, then red, then black then back to grey again.

He paused, held onto the wall and tried to rebalance himself. 

He blinked a few times. He felt drunk without joy.

He wanted to collapse onto himself, lean in against the wall and meld in, whatever was happening to him was terrifying.

A few more steps and he couldn’t go further.

He got out his phone and it was too bright, but he let habit take charge and his fingers texted Tater. 

Jack isn’t sure if its comprehensible, but it must be because a few minutes later Tater comes rushing in to his eye line. 

Tater’s response was the same as always, kind, supportive but still chiding.

You should’ve said something. 

Jack scoffed at the thought.

It wouldn’t matter. He had too much experience to back up the claim, and Tater knew that.

He had learned how to be hurt and how to heal watching his dad, and apples don’t really fall far from the tree.

Jack didn’t need to break another tradition, add another hole to the Zimmermann story.

He doesn’t say anything.  
~

“You know I can’t do this forever.” Tater gave Jack a slight nod. He handed Jack a glass a water.

Jack took a small sip of the water. It tasted wrong.

“Not that I wouldn’t want to Zimmy, I’m getting married soon and you’ll be here, stuck alone,” Tater struck a morbid tone, his voice filled with exaggerated sadness.

“Tater, I’m not a kitten, I don’t need someone taking care of me.”

Tater bit his lip and shrugged. Jack considered it politer than what he had expected, which was laughter in his face.

“Can I sleep now?” he nudged Tater to stop with the questions. He didn’t want to go down this road. 

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t ever lived alone, he’d be fine without Tater. 

“Yes, grumpy kitty, go sleep. I’ll make you some soup for tomorrow.”

He would miss Tater’s cooking.

Jack changed into his pyjamas and made his way to bed, cursing the fact that he couldn’t have his phone on him. 

He wanted to watch recaps of the game, read what people were saying, figure out where he went wrong. Figure out what veiled insults the press were using against him today.

The concussion hurt. The no assists hurt more.

Jack’s head hit the pillow and he shut his eyes to try and forget about the day. 

He succeeded at it too, for all of a few minutes. Something was off. 

He felt a tingle rise up through his body. 

It turned into a low buzz of pain and irritation on his wrist. Jack scratched it vigorously through his hoodie but the pain persisted. 

“Tater,” he called out. 

He came running in, ladder still in hand and looked at Jack, expectant.

“Dude, my arm is killing me can a minor concussion do that?” Jack winced through the pain, clutching his arm.

“Did you land on your arm weird?”

Jack shook his head, not able to speak because of the sensation in his arm.

“Where does it hurt, I probably have a pain relief spray somewhere,” Tater asked. He went into the en-suite to find the spray.

Jack paused for a second, where did the pain originate?

A moment later, Tater emerges with the spray in his hand, “Where’s it hurt?”

“Uh. My wrist.”

“Shit. That sounds bad, this check really fucked you up huh? Don’t worry I’ll wipe that grin off of Davies face next time.”

Jack swallowed, “My soulmark hurts.”

Tater doesn’t react. Or he does and Jack can’t really read him. 

His voice became softer as he asked, “What kind of pain is it?”

“It’s like a shooting pain, imagine being stabbed a bunch of times, it’s sharp,” Jack whined.

Tater looked away for a second, “Is he harming himself?”

“What?”

“You’d be able to feel that, I hate when Americans call that a myth, it’s a thing. I’m telling you if that hurts you, it must be hurting him too, you should call Bitty,” Tater said.

Jack bit the inside of his lip.

Tater had assumed that Bitty was more than he was and Jack never corrected him. 

What would he say anyway?

For all intents and purposes, he didn’t have a soulmate. 

364 days a year, Jack didn’t have a soulmate (on Christmas, his mom would force Jack to call him, though Kent rarely picked up). 

“Do you think B is okay? I bet he misses you, dude you gotta talk to him,” Tater rushed out. 

They were friends too. Jack expected that Tater would be worried. 

“I’ll call him, Tots and I’ll use Siri , don’t worry, no screens or anything, I think I smell something burning now you should deal with that,” Jack practically dragged Tater out of the room. 

“I haven’t even turned on the heat yet,” Tater huffed.

“Well, that’s a terrible way to cook,” Jack deadpanned. 

Tater laughs at last and leaves Jack be.

The pain has dulled but Jack still has an urge to itch it. 

What the fuck was Kent up to? And why the fuck was it up to Jack to deal with it?

He grabbed his phone and pondered calling Kent. What would he even say? 

Kent was fine. He had played in a game yesterday and was going to play in one tomorrow, if Jack remembered correctly. 

He couldn’t exactly ring Kent up because of a superstition. 

Maybe Jack was having an allergic reaction. 

Yet.

Kent was a wuss, there was no way he’d be handling the pain well.

“Hey Siri, call Kent Parson.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> will kent pick up the phone? what will they talk about? place ur bets now,,,,,  
> ty for all the love on the first chapter! you can reblog this on tumblr if you wish: [x](http://cutie-with-booty.tumblr.com/post/179644500679/meet-me-among-the-flowers-chapter-2)

**Author's Note:**

> ty for reading! if you liked it consider reblogging on tumblr:[x](http://cutie-with-booty.tumblr.com/post/179302924849/meet-me-among-the-flowers)


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